The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 78, July 1974 - April, 1975 Page: 119
This periodical is part of the collection entitled: Southwestern Historical Quarterly and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Texas State Historical Association.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
To, Build ,a Pacific Railroad
Unfortunately for railroad promoters, the Kansas-Nebraska bill was de-
bated amid heated controversy about the expansion of slavery. Congress-
man Thomas Hart Benton, a strong supporter of a central Pacific railroad
from St. Louis, found it regrettable that the enigma of slavery had come in
to haunt the proceedings.' For a while, however, it seemed as if Indian
removal would be the main topic. Yet no matter how much the railroad
promoters and expansionists wanted to avoid it, it was an ineradicable fact
that slavery was the focal issue.8
Despite this preoccupation with slavery, advocates and promoters of a
southern Pacific railroad saw through the suffusion and speculated on what
Douglas, the foster father of the Kansas-Nebraska bill, was apparently en-
deavoring to do. They considered it obvious that he wanted to make provi-
sions for constructing a railroad from Chicago, where he owned large tracts
of land, to St. Louis and San Francisco for mercenary reasons. Such a
maneuver would increase not only his financial assets, but also his popu-
larity and vote-getting power. Indeed, Douglas made it quite clear that rail
connection with the Pacific was one of the motivating factors in his promo-
tion of the bill. After the Kansas-Nebraska bill was approved, Douglas's
antagonists were convinced they had been right and that he would now
solicit federal land grants and progress with dispatch toward actual railroad
construction.9
ibid., 32nd Cong., 2nd Sess. (Serial XioI), 514-516, 672-675; "Arkansas and Missouri
Railroad Grant," The Western Journal and 'Civilian, IX (February, 1853), 346-347;
"Railroad to the Pacific Ocean," ibid., XI (.October, 1853), i-8 (the title of this
journal varied, earlier issues bearing a shorter version and the title pages of the bound
volumes carrying a greatly expanded heading; hereafter the journal will be cited as
Western Journal); "The Southern Route to the Pacific: Texas Railroad Act," De Bow's
Review: A Monthly Journal of Commerce, Agriculture, Manufactures, Internal Im-
provements, Statistics, etc., etc., XVI (May, 1854), 545-549; "The Pacific Railroad,"
ibid., 506 (the title of this journal showed some variation; hereafter it will be cited as
De Bow's Review); Texas State Gazette (Austin), February 13, 21, March 21, 1854;
The Texas Republican (Marshall), January 7, 1854; Russell, Improvement of Communi-
cation with the Pacific Coast, 125-127, 155-167; Muir, "Thirty-Second Parallel," 37-38;
Hodder, "Railroad Backgrounds," 12-13, 15-16.
7In 185o Benton had lost his Senate seat to Henry Geyer because, in part, he had
refused to take a firm stand on the slavery issue. Benton made an unsuccessful bid for
Senator David Rice Atchison's post in 1853-1854.
sCongressional Globe, 32nd Cong., 2nd Sess. (Serial XIo2), II113-III7; Russell, Im-
provement of Communication with the Pacific Coast, 156-167; Robert R. Russell, "The
Issues in the Congressional Struggle over the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, 1854," The Journal
of Southern History, XXIX (May, 1963), I87-210.
9James C. Malin, The Nebraska Question, 1852-1854 (Lawrence, Kansas, 1953),
16-19; Memphis Daily Appeal, November 29, 30, 1854; Albert Pike, Letters to the
People of the Northern States (n.p., n.d.), Albert Pike Papers (Library of the SupremeII9
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 78, July 1974 - April, 1975, periodical, 1974/1975; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117149/m1/153/: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.